Door operating mechanism for garages



Se t. 5, 1933.

M. F. FEERY DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR GARAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 19. 1952 Patented sept. 5, 1933 7 PATENT orrics DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR GARAGES Michiel Feery, Eyota, Minn. Application April 19, 1932. Serial No. 606,231

' 8 Claims. (Cl. 268-69) This invention relates to door operating devices and particularly to means whereby garage doors may be opened when a driver reaches the garage, the driver then operating a lever from the car seat which causes the opening of the doors, the

doors then becoming latched in their open position, the latch being operable from the ear to release the doors and permit them to close.

The general object of the invention is to provide a readily constructed and easily operated construction of this character wherein springs act to urge the dors to a closed position but wherein the doors are opened by a relatively long lever extending out into position where it may be readily operated from the outside of the garage.

A further object is to provide very simple means whereby the doors may be latched in their open position, this latch being readily operated to release the doors.

A further object is to provide springs for urging the doors closed, these springs being so constructed as to beparticularly compact;

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:-

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through a garage door showing my door opening mechanism; 7

Figure 2 is a section on the .line 2,2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3. of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of amodified form of latch. l

Referring to the drawings, designates a portion of the front of a garage and having the. doors 11 hinged thereto as at 12. These doors open outward and are normally held closed by springs as will now be described. Extending through the front of the garage above the door opening is a U-shaped member designated generally 13. This, as illustrated, is composed of four sections of pipe arranged in pairs, the pipes which form one leg of the U-shaped member being joined to each other by Ts 14, these Ts being connected by a transverse brace 15 and by the bolts 19.

At the forward ends the legs of the U-shaped member are joined by the elbows 1'7 and the nipple 18. The legs of this U-shaped member pass through guides 16, and 16 supported in any suitable manner within the garage. It will be, of course, understood that the legs of this U-shaped member pass sufficiently loosely through the guides 16 and 16 as to permit'the very slight play of these parts required bythe arm 33 moving upon its pivot. Extending downward through I the brace 15 are bolts 19 which pass through bolt openings in a transverseplate 20. Upon these bolts are pivotally mounted the arms 21 which are preferably made of pipe sections and pivotally connected to the extremities of these arms are the links 22 which are also made of pipe sections, these links being pivoted to an angular member 28 which is attached to each section of the door. The levers 21 are pivotally supported upon links 24 which are formed with forks to embrace and be pivotally engaged with the levers. 21 and at their opposite ends have pivotalengagement with the plates 25 which are attached to the under face of the lintel L of the door-way. The levers 21 are thus pivotally supported intermediate their ends by these links or fulcrum supports 24 and it will be obvious that when the door sections are opened, the levers 21 will be swung so that the slide 13 and the attached pipe sections will move rearward and that when the doors are closed, the U-shaped member 13 formed of these pipe sections will move forward.

For the purpose of urging this U-shaped member 13 forward and thus urging the door section to a closed position, I provide the contractile springs 26 connected to the extremities of a cross piece 27 through which the rear pipe sectionsof the member 13 sliding'lypass. The forward ends of these springs are attached to the lintel L.

Surrounding the rear portions of the legs of the U-shaped member 13 are coiled contractile COYl'l-. pression springs 28 which bear at their forward ends against the cross piece 27 and at their rear ends bear against washers or other suitable supports carried upon the rear pipe sections of memher 13 and bearing against the T's 14 thereof.

These springs 28 yieldingly resist any independent movement of the cross piece 27-relative to the 9 legs of the U-shaped member 13. When the doors are opened, the springs 26 are placed under tension and as the doors are still further opened, the springs 28 will be placed under compression. Thus both-the springs 28 and the springs 26 tend to urge the door closed. When the doors are fully opened, both sets of springs act upon the door to close it but when the doors first start to open and, for the first portion of the movement, practically only the springs 26 resist the movement ofthe doors.

For the purpose of forcing the U-shaped member 13 inward to cause the opening of the doors, I provide a vertically extending support 29 which is mounted upon the garage just above the door opening and at the middle thereof which is pro vided at its upper end with ears 30. Pivoted upon these ears is a lever comprising the opposed Ts 31 and 32 and the pipe section 33. The nipple 18 passes loosely through the T 31 and thus it will be obvious that when this operating lever composed of the parts 31, 32 and 33 is forced inward at its lower end, the door will be opened.

As a means for actuating this lever, I provide an operating lever 34 which. may be readily connected to the lower end of the lever composed of the parts 31, 32 and 33. This lever 34 is braced by means of a pipe 35 which extends upward and inward and may be operatively connected to the upper T 32. The brace 35 and the pipe section 34 constitute a rigid operating lever whereby when the outer end of this operating lever 34 is depressed, the lever composed of the parts 31, 32 and 33 will be forced inward at its lower end, forcing inward on the U-shaped member 13 and thus acting to operate the door as previously described. This lever 34 may be disposed at any desired height and, if disposed above the height where it may be conveniently r ached, may be provided with a pull chain 36 whereby an operator in an automobile may pull downward on the outer end of the lever. 0n the other hand, the lever may be so formed that it will be disposed a relatively short distance from the ground so that there will be no necessity of this pull chain. 1 have illustrated the lever as being disposed at a height greater than that of a car and, therefore, provided with a pull chain whereby it may be pulled downward.

For the purpose of latching the doors in open position after they have been opened by depressing the outer end of the lever 34, I may provide the latch shown in Figure 1 and designated 37; This latch is operatively pivoted upon the supporting member 29 and is preferably Ll shaped in plan so as to embrace the T 31. This latch outward of its end is formed with a latch tooth 38 so that when the latch is depressed, this tooth will engage over the T 31 or analogous part and hold the lever composed of the parts 31, 32 and 33 from outward swinging movement.

A pull chain 39 is attached to the extremity of the latch and is trained along the brace 35 in any suitable manner as, for instance, through the interior of this tubular brace and the extremity of the chain depends into a position where it may be readily pulled. Assuming that the doors are opened and the driver has driven out of the garage and desires to close the doors, then he pulls this chain 39 which pulls upward on the outer end of the latch and then the springs 26 and 28 act to force the door sections to a closed position. I do not wish to be limited to this particular form of latch as other latching means might be used. Thus, for instance, I may pivot to the lower end of the support 29 the latch 40 which is provided with the downwardly extending opposed detents 41 and 42, these detents facing in opposite directions and engaging the T 31 or any other equivalent part. When the doors are opened, the detents 41 will engage the lower end of the lever composed of the parts 31, 32 and 33 and will hold the lever from swinging movement under the action of the springs 28. When the doors are closed, however, and this lever is swung outward, the detents 42 will engage with the member 31 and hold the operating lever from downward movement until the latch has been released. In this construction, the latch has to be released both to open the door and to close the door whereas with the construction illustrated in Figure 1, the latch has only to be released to open the door.

It will be seen that in my construction, ordinary gas pipe and gas fittings may be used for forming all of the different parts except for the formation of the springs, the latch, the supports on the door for the links and the flexible chains by which the latch is operated. Any mechanic who can fit pipe can make all the parts of this door operating device without requiring any special machinery for the purpose.

It will be seen that very little of the mechanism is disposed outward of the doors where it will be subjected to the weather and that the part of the mechanism which is disposed out or" doors may be made of galvanized pipe and fittings so that they will not deteriorate. Springs and other parts are disposed within the garage. It will further be seen that no posts are required to support the operating lever but that the operating lever is disposed on the garage itself and at such a height that it will not interfere in any manner withthe movement of cars or trucks into or out of the garage and that the operating lever extends at an inclination to the driveway so that the pull cords both for the lever and the latch are disposed to one side of the driveway.

It will be seen that with this construction, I have provided a sliding member which is operatively connected to the doors to cause them to swing open as the slide is moved inward and that the doors are urged to a closed position and the sliding member projected by means of a spring or springs and that further I have provided an angular lever consisting essentially of the element 34, the brace 35 and the connecting member between the lever 34 and the brace comprising the portions 31, 32 and 33 and that this lever is pivoted at its upper, inner end so that as the lever end is pulled down at its outer end, the lower end of the pivoted portion of the lever will swing inward and force the slide inward and that I have provided a latch holding the operating lever and the slide in position with the doors opened and that this latch may also be so formed as to hold the doors closed.

I do not wish to be limited to the particular form of the lever consisting of the parts 34, 35 and 31, 32 and 33, as while this lever is shown as being triangular, it is obvious that the lever,

might be simply angular in form without necessarily being triangular.

Obviously minor modifications might be made in the specification without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:---

1. The combination with a swinging door and a door frame therefor,'of a slide disposed in the frame above the door and movable outward or inward, a spring urging the door to a closed position, an angular operating lever pivoted at its upper end to the front of the door frame and bearing against said slide, said lever projecting forward from the door frame whereby it may be operated from a vehicle, a latch operatively engaging the slide and lever and acting when the lever is depressed and the door is open to hold it in itsdepressed position, and manually operable means for releasing, said latch to permit the door to close.

2. The combination with a door frame and onposed swinging doors, of a slide disposed in the frame above the doors and shiftable outward or inward, a pair of levers each pivoted intermediateof its ends and having the inner end pivotally connected to said slide and links connecting the outer ends of the levers to the respective doors, springs urging the doors to a closed position and an angular operating lever pivoted at its upper end to the front of the door frame and bearing against said slide, said lever projecting forward from the door frame whereby it may be operated from the vehicle, a depression of the outer end of the lever causing the inward movement of the slide and the opening of the doors, a latch operatively engaging the lever to hold the lever in its depressed position with the doors open, and means for releasing said latch.

3. The combination with a door frame and swinging doors mounted therein, of a slide disposed in the frame above the door and movable outward or inward, springsurging the doors to a closed position, levers, one for each door, each having one end operatively connected to the door and the other end to said slide, a triangular operating lever pivoted at its upper inner corner to the front of the door frame and having its lower innercorner bearing against said slide and operatively connected thereto, said lever projecting forward from the door frame whereby it may be operated from a vehicle, a latch acting to hold the outer end of the lever depressed and the slide forced inward, and means depending from the lever whereby the latch may be released.

i. The combination with a door frame and swinging doors therefor, of means for operating the doors comprising a U-shaped slide extending through the frame above the door and longitudinally movable, springs resisting the inward movement of the slide, a pair of levers one for each door, each lever being pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the door frame, each lever at its outer end having linked connection to the corresponding door and at its inner end being pivotally connected to said slide, an angular lever pivoted at its upper corner to the front of the door frame and at its lower corner bearing against said slide, the lever extending outward from the door frame whereby it may be operated from a vehicle, and latching means holding the lever in a depressed position with the slide forced inward and the doors open, and means depending from the last named lever whereby the latch may be released. 7

5. The combination with a door frame and a pair of swinging doors hinged thereto for outward movement, of a sliding member extending through the front of the door frame above the door, guides for the sliding'member, a cross bar on the sliding member, coiled contractile springs attached to the cross bar and to the door frame, compression springs carried by the sliding member and bearing against the cross bar, a pair of levers, one for each door, and disposed on the inside of the doors, links pivotally mounted on the door frame and pivotally engaging said levers intermediate their ends and acting as fulcrums, means pivotally connecting the inner ends of the levers to said slide, links pivotally connecting the outer ends of the levers to the doors, means exterior to the door wherebysaid slidingmember may be forced inward against the action of said springs, and a manually releasable latch for holding said sliding member in its inward position with the doors opened.

6. The combination with a door frame and a pair of swinging doors hinged thereto for outward movement, of a sliding member extending through the front of the door frame above the door, guides for the sliding 'member, a cross bar on the sliding member, coiled contractile springs attached to the cross bar and to the door frame, compression springs carried by the sliding member and bearing against the cross bar, a pair of levers, one for each door, and disposed on the inside of the doors, links pivotally mounted on the door frame and pivotally engaging said levers intermediate their ends and acting as fulcrums, means pivotally connecting the inner ends of the levers to said slide, links pivotally connecting the outer ends of the levers to the doors, an angular lever pivoted at its upper corner upon the outer face of the door frame, the lower corner of the lever being pivotally connected to said slide, the lever then extending forward and having a depending connection at its forward end whereby the forward end of the lever may be pulled down and the slide forced inward, and manually releasable latching means carried by the door frame for latching the lever in its depressed position with the slide forced inward.

7. The combination with a door frame and a pair of swinging doors hinged thereto for outward movement, of a sliding member extending through the front of the door frame above the door, guides for the sliding member, a cross bar on the sliding member, coiled contractile springs attached to the cross bar. and to the door frame, compression springs carried by the sliding member and bearing against the cross bar, a pairof levers, one for each door, and disposed on the inside of the doors, links pivotally mounted on the door frame and pivotally engaging said levers intermediate their ends and acting as fulcrums, means pivotally connecting the inner ends of the levers to said slide, links pivotally connecting the outer ends of the levers to the doors, an angular lever pivoted at its upper corner upon the outer face of the door frame, the lower corner of the lever being pivotally connected to said slide, the lever then extending forward and having a depending connection at its forward end whereby the'forward end of the lever may be pulled down and the slide forced inward, and manually releasable latching means carried by the door frame for latching the lever in its depressed position with the slide forced inward comprising a latch pivoted to the face of the door frame and extending out over the slide, the latch having a depending tooth engageable over the slide when the slide is forced inward, and a flexible connection mounted upon the operating lever and extending from the free end thereof to a point above the latch and then extending downward to and engaged with said latch.

8. The combination with a door frame and swinging doors hingedly mounted thereon, of means for opening said doors comprising a U- shaped sliding member formed of parallel pipe sections connected by intermediate Ts and connectedat their forward ends by a nipple, a brace connecting the intermediate Ts, a cross bar slidingly mounted upon the rear pipe sections, compression springs surrounding the rear pipe sections and bearing against the cross bar and resisting forward movement of the cross bar, contractile springs connected to the cross bar at their rear ends and at their forward ends connected to the door frame, a pair of levers, one for each door, supporting links consisting of pipe sections pivoted to the door frame and pivoted to said levers intermediate their ends, the inner ends of said levers being operatively pivoted to the intermediate Ts of the U-shaped slide, links formed of pipe sections pivoted to the outer ends of the levers and pivotally connected to each door, a triangular operating lever formed of pipe sections pivoted at its upper corner to the front of the door frame above the forward end of the slide, said slide extending through the door frame, the lower corner of said lever being pivotally engaged with the nipple constituting the forward end of the slide, the body of said lever extending forward from the doorway whereby it may be operated from a car, a pull chain depending from the free end of the lever, a latch pivoted 

